A conversation with Jay Rose, new interviews every Monday.

Opening a shop during a pandemic, that must have had its own difficulties more specifically to you when opening your first studio, is there anything you would have changed about the process?

Nope. There were considerably less hurdles than what I prepared for. Not to say it wasn't difficult or stressful, because it absolutely was, but I mentally prepared myself for multiple worst case scenarios.

What inspired you to open your own studio? It has such a specific curated style to it, how did you come up with that?

I felt as though the norm with tattoo shops sought to somewhat take advantage of tattooers financially. I wanted to curate a space that was interesting to be in, while also giving artists a great deal to maintain a solid team and avoid the "revolving door" that I've seen often in shops in the past.

Now tattoo shops are able to be open in Toronto, how do you find working with your wife? Has owning a studio together/ working with each other day to day changed your dynamic?

We worked together, literally a foot apart, in London as well. We are always a bit flirty with each other, like teenagers in school. I couldn't imagine working without her now. Owning the studio comes with its own set of issues but we try to make a point of separating work and personal time.

You’re doing a lot more large scale free hand based pieces that focus a lot on movement, these patterns really work with the body. What inspired this transition? 

I wanted to have more fun with tattooing, and this was my way to do it. I love linework and a heavy graphic quality. While these aspects are present in my image based work, patterning and ornamental work lends itself to designing based on the client as the artwork as opposed to the imagery in the tattoo alone.

How do you feel your background in illustration and graffiti effected the way you approached tattooing, if at all?

It helped me hone in on the aspects of design that I enjoy most, mainly being linework and heavy saturated blacks and accent colours. The transition between graffiti and tattooing was seamless as far as designing goes. The medium in which I applied these designs could not be more different. Tattooing is hard. 

What direction do you see your work moving in going forward?

I want to move into more flowing freehand ornamental work. But what I want out of my own artwork changes constantly, so honestly who knows. We'll see what happens.

What’s been the proudest moment of your career so far?

I had the pleasure of tattooing some important imagery on my 78 year old grandfather. Jay took some amazing photos of that moment that I will cherish forever. 

Tattooing is a personal experience, are there any experiences you’ve had with clients that really stand out to you?

Clients who bring little personal gifts, in any form, always hold a special place in my heart. They went out of their way to do something nice for the sake of being nice. These are good people.